Leicester City vs Brighton: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Despite their contrasting positions in the table, we are backing the points to be shared in this one between Leicester and Brighton. Leicester will be brimming with confidence following their recent win against West Ham in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge. The Foxes now have one win in their previous five.

Meanwhile, Brighton have only won twice in their previous five following their defeat to Fulham. Expect goals in this fixture, as over 2.5 goals have been scored in seven of the last eight involving Leicester and six of the last seven involving the visitors. Both teams have scored in the last seven involving Brighton and seven of the last eight involving Leicester. Two of the last three meetings have ended in a draw – Leicester 2-2 Brighton

Leicester host Brighton in the Premier League as the Foxes look to make it two wins from two under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Date: 08/12/24

Kick-off time: 14:00

Venue: King Power Stadium

It was the perfect start to life as new Leicester boss for Ruud van Nistelrooy as he oversaw a 3-1 home victory against West Ham in his first game. It was a good response from a 4-1 defeat at Brentford, in which van Nistelrooy watched on from the stands. The victory has given them some breathing room towards the bottom of the table, with a four-point gap separating themselves and the relegation zone.

Brighton will be hoping to recover from defeat at Fulham, a result which means they are now winless in two. Despite this, they are still in fifth place, though are only three points ahead of Newcastle, who are in 12th. Alternatively, they trail fourth place Man City by three, highlighting the significance of every dropped point.

Goals should be a feature in this game, with the Seagulls scoring in all but one of their league games so far. They will be confident in having plenty of success against the league’s third-worst defence, though 27 of Leicester’s 28 goals conceded came prior to van Nistelrooy’s appointment. Following the disappointment of their defeat to Fulham, Brighton will hope that Danny Welbeck’s injury will not keep him out of this game as he is the club’s top scorer with six. Joao Pedro has also enjoyed a fine campaign with four goals in seven appearances.

The hosts have scored 19 goals, which is more than all teams in the bottom half excluding Brentford and Wolves. Five of them have come in the last three, and they have only been shutout once all season, coming at Old Trafford. Jamie Vardy has shown he has still got it with five goals, which leads the team. He scored the opening goal of the van Nistelrooy era just two minutes into the game.

These two sides have met seven times in the league since 2020. There has been nothing to split the teams with two wins each and three draws. However, Leicester have not recorded a win in any of the last four. In 22-23, Brighton were 5-2 winners at home, with the points shared in a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium. Both teams took the lead in this one before Evan Ferguson scored an 88th minute equaliser.

Leicester vs Brighton will not be available to watch on TV in the UK.

Leicester

Jakub Stolarczyk and Ricardo Pereira remain out with long-term injuries. Harry Winks is nearing a return, however this game comes too soon. Issahaku Fatawu is out for the season with an ACL injury.

Brighton

Ferdi Kadioglu and Jack Hinshelwood will miss out with ankle and knee injuries respectively. Adam Webster and James Milner are also unavailable. Danny Welbeck missed their last game with a small injury, but the hope is that he will be ready for Sunday’s game.

Leicester:

In their last five games, Leicester have won one, drawn one and lost three. It has been a tough return to life in the Premier League for the Foxes, and they are now under new management. However this run started under Steve Cooper against fellow relegation candidates Ipswich. They came away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Leif Davis scored the opener for the hosts, before Kalvin Phillips saw red. The Foxes took advantage of the extra man and found the equaliser at the death through Jordan Ayew.

Before the international break, they took on Man United. They lost 3-0 with strikes coming from Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho in addition to an own goal. Cooper’s last game in charge was a 2-1 loss to Chelsea as goals from Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez condemned them to defeat.

New boss Ruud van Nistelrooy watched from the stands as Brentford beat his side 4-1. Facundo Buonanotte gave The Foxes the lead, but three unanswered before the break shifted the game in the host’s favour. In his first official game in charge, van Nistelrooy oversaw a 3-1 win over West Ham. Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka were all on the scoresheet.

Brighton:

In their last five games, Brighton have won two, lost two and drawn one. It has been a mixed stretch for the Seagulls in recent weeks, with their latest game a 3-1 loss at Fulham. They fell behind early to an Alex Iwobi strike, before Carlos Baleba equalised. A Matt O’Riley own goal and second for Iwobi sealed the win for the hosts. This followed more dropped points at home. They drew 1-1 with Southampton after Flynn Downes cancelled out Kaoru Mitoma’s opener.

A 2-1 win at Bournemouth preceded this. Joao Pedro and Mitoma were their goalscorers. Before the international break they pulled off a huge come-from-behind win at home to Man City. Erling Haaland had given the Champions the lead, but two goals in the space of five minutes from Joao Pedro and O’Riley gave the Seagulls a late win.

This run started with a defeat against Liverpool in the Premier League. They lost 2-1 at Anfield as Ferdi Kadıoğlu opened the scoring for Brighton, but two goals in as many minutes in the second half turned the game on its head.

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